CAPACITY CROWDS DISCOVER NEW WINES, ARTISTIC FINDS AND MORE AT 27TH ANNUAL GRAPEFEST

Thursday, September 19, 2013

GRAPEVINE, TEXAS - (September 19, 2013) - On September 12, 13 14 and 15, festival-goers crowded Grapevine's Historic District for the 27th Annual GrapeFest and discovered new and returning wines, artisans, family-friendly fun, live entertainment and much more.

As part of the four-day festival, the People's Choice Wine Tasting Classic, the largest consumer-judged wine competition in the nation, had the largest participation of Texas wineries in the event's history, including three first-time participants. The winners of the People's Choice Wine Tasting Classic are:

"The 27th Annual GrapeFest was a huge success," said festival co-chair Ed Stone. "All of the signature festival events including People's Choice and the Texas Wine Tribute were well attended and guests seem to really be having a great time at the festival."

"We saw lots of guests dancing and enjoying all of the live entertainment throughout the festival," said Julie Stone, GrapeFest co-chair. "It was really exciting to see families and groups of friends enjoying all of the fun in Grapevine."

On Saturday, September 7, the Texas Wine Tribute was held at the Cotton Belt Tower Grand Hall. New at the Texas Wine Tribute this year was the inaugural "Tall in Texas" award presented to a Texas winery for its dedication to, support of and promotion of the Texas Wine Industry. The first recipient of the Tall in Texas was Messina Hof Winery & Resort from Bryan, Texas. Messina Hoff founders Paul VI and Merrill Bonarrigo, along with their son Paul VII and his wife Karen Bonarrigo, have played a crucial role in the development of the Texas Wine Industry through their commitment to mentoring others within the industry as well as the promotion of the industry.

The ever-popular GrapeStomp returned and featured dozens of teams of two stomping 18 pounds of grapes for two minutes. Large crowds could be seen at the GrapeStomp stage cheering on the competitors. Winners of the GrapeStomp daily sessions competed in the Grand Champion Stomp-Off on Sunday, September 15. The winning team, Elizabeth Hilscher and David Dedrick of Dallas, received the coveted Purple Foot Award, along with a glass foot sculpture of their own feet from Grapevine's Vetro Glassblowing Studio. The team stomped under the name of Sugar and Yeast and stomped a total of 40 ounces in the Grand Championship Stomp Off.

The 2013 Mayoral GrapeStomp featured mayors and/or city representatives from Carrollton, Colleyville, Combine, Coppell, Grapevine, Haslet, Irving and Pantego. Special guests at the Mayoral GrapeStomp included representatives from Grapevine's Sister City of Parras de la Fuente, Mexico. The winners of the Most Juice Stomped Award, with 18.10 ounces, was the team from Colleyville featuring Mayor David Kelly and Councilman Chuck Mogged. Some of the other winners included Parras de la Fuente Mexico winners of both Best Costume and the People's Choice Award and the City of Coppell won the Funniest Costume Award.

"We've been so fortunate to have beautiful weather, great wine tasting events, fantastic live music, unique arts and crafts and more before and during the festival," said Ed Stone. "Our guests were having a wonderful time this weekend."

In 2014, the 28th Annual GrapeFest will occur September 11, 12, 13 and 14.

The 27th Annual GrapeFest - A Wine Experience had an attendance of 262,910, a slight increase over 2012. Contact Leigh Lyons at LLyons@GrapevineTexasUSA.com or call 817-410-3195. For more information, visit www.GrapevineTexasUSA.com/GrapeFest.